Environmental Management

Indonesia’s large population makes electricity consumption increase, so the construction of power plants is inevitable. As a state-owned electricity company, PLN Group strives to provide the best service for the community by providing cheap, affordable and reliable electricity that will drive the country’s economy. In addition to providing a reliable electricity supply, PLN and its subsidiaries are also committed to continuing to preserve the environment, especially in areas close to power plants.

However, the release of carbon emissions also increases in line with the increasing of energy consumption. In order to increase energy consumption without increasing carbon emissions, PLN seeks to encourage the construction of environmentally friendly power plants. The right strategy is needed, so that existing power plants that use fossil fuels can still operate with an environmentally friendly approach, while efforts to transform to new and renewable energy can continue.

Environmental Management System

PLN’s commitment to carry out environmentally friendly business activities is also reflected in the achievement of 8 Gold PROPER. PROPER is the Public Disclosure Program for Environmental Compliance which is defined as the Corporate Performance Rating Assessment Program in Environmental Management. PLN has successfully carried out efforts to control pollution and environmental damage and implemented clean production as well.
PLN uses FABA waste as an effort to minimize FABA accumulation. Several steps that have been taken by PLN to minimize FABA stockpiles in 2021 are as follows:

1. Providing direction to units and subsidiaries in the form of DIR MSDM Letter No. 25867/KBL.01.08/ C01060000/2021 on the Massive Utilization of Fly Ash and Bottom Ash (FABA);
2. Providing direction to units and Subsidiaries in the form of EVP K3L Letter No. 8700/KLH.00.01/C01060500/2021 on Directions for Fly Ash and Bottom Ash Management Activities related to the Implementation of Government Regulation No. 22 of 2021;
3. Including FABA management criteria in performance appraisal for parent units and Subsidiaries;
4. Providing direction to units and Subsidiaries to prepare FABA Management Roadmap;
5. Monitoring FABA waste management monthly;
6. Developing FABA management procedures (use of internal and external, storage of internal and external transportation, stockpiling, emergency response, documentation and reporting);
7. Reviewing the potential use of FABA with the aim of promoting a circular economy.
8. Supporting the proposed FABA management budget in the unit’s RKAP in accordance with the FABA Management Roadmap.

PLN uses several energies, both renewable and non-renewable energy. Non-renewable energy includes coal, fuel, natural gas, and others, while the use of renewable energy includes biomass energy used in power plant operational activities. To reduce the use of non-renewable energy, the Company strives to make various initiatives including the integration of new and renewable energy.The Company uses calculation method based on the Energy Analysis Model (EAM) which applies net energy analysis model which use physical units to calculate the energy input and output with caloric heat units which are then converted to GJ.

In 2022, PLN has implemented co-firing technology in 36 PLTU locations out of a target of 35 locations. PLN’s co-firing program was able to produce 575.4 GWh of clean energy and succeeded in reducing carbon emissions by 570 thousand tons of CO2 by utilizing 542 thousand tons of biomass. This implementation of co-firing is affecting the carbon emissions and greenhouse gases reduction. Not only utilizing its biomass, to ensure the continuity of supply, PLN has built a biomass supply chain. The biomass supply chain starts from the planning, development, management of the biomass plant to the commercialization of the PLTU PLN. There are five types of biomasses currently used; sawdust, wood chips, palm shells, corn cobs, and solid waste fuel.

The co-firing program itself has been successfully carried out by collaborating on the utilization of waste with 12 regional governments throughout Indonesia and 6 projects of Solid Jumputan Fuel (BBJP) which have also been launched and operated in 2022.

To give feasible access to environmental performance in PLN, in 2021 PLN has developed the DATALING application. This application is used to monitor the implementation of Environmental Performance in all units and subsidiaries of PLN. With this application, PLN can easily monitor environmental management and monitoring starting from ownership of environmental documents and permits or technical approvals as well as B3 and non-B3 waste management, emission management, and wastewater management resulting from activities and electricity activities in the Company.

1. Environmental Management System

PLN has established a comprehensive environmental management system (EMS) to ensure that its operations comply with environmental regulations and standards. The EMS includes the following elements:

1. PLN has a set of environmental policies that define its commitment to environmental protection. These policies are communicated to all employees and are regularly reviewed and updated.
2. PLN has a systematic approach to planning its environmental activities. This includes identifying and assessing environmental impacts, setting goals and targets, and developing and implementing plans to achieve these goals.
3. PLN has a system in place to ensure that its environmental policies and plans are implemented and operated effectively. This includes monitoring and measuring environmental performance, and taking corrective action when necessary.
4. PLN regularly reviews its EMS to ensure that it is effective and meets its objectives. This includes identifying opportunities for improvement and making necessary changes.

PLN has a number of programs in place to improve its environmental performance. These include:

1. Wastewater and air pollution management: PLN has a number of measures in place to reduce wastewater and air pollution from its operations. These include installing wastewater treatment plants, using cleaner fuels, and improving operating practices.
2. Waste management: PLN has a system in place to manage its waste. This includes segregating waste, recycling, and composting.
3. Natural resource efficiency: PLN is working to improve the efficiency of its use of natural resources. This includes using renewable energy sources, conserving water, and reducing energy consumption.
4. Employee training: PLN provides training to its employees on environmental issues. This helps to raise awareness of environmental concerns and to ensure that employees are equipped to operate in an environmentally responsible manner.

PLN is committed to continuous improvement of its environmental performance. The EMS provides a framework for achieving this goal and for ensuring that PLN’s operations are environmentally sustainable.

2. Solid Waste Management

PLN is committed to managing its solid waste in an environmentally responsible manner. PLN has a number of programs in place to reduce, reuse, and recycle solid waste. These include:

1. FABA management: PLN utilizes FABA to produce a variety of products, including bricks, concrete, and road fill
2. Hazardous waste management: PLN has a system in place to manage hazardous waste. This includes segregating waste, storing it in secure containers, and transporting it to approved disposal facilities.
3. 3R program: PLN is implementing a 3R program (reduce, reuse, recycle) for non-hazardous waste. This program encourages employees to reduce the amount of waste they produce, reuse materials whenever possible, and recycle materials that cannot be reused
4. Other initiatives: PLN is also implementing a number of other initiatives to reduce solid waste, such as using water gallons instead of plastic bottles, promoting paperless work, and using double-sided paper.

3. Effluent Management

PLN commited to improve environmental performance, particularly in effluent management. PLN manages effluent by treating it from both operational and non-operational processes at the plant. The effluent is directed to the treatment plant to enhance its quality, ensuring compliance with environmental standards.

PLN has conserved the effluent by implementing 3R programs. The company already mandated all business units to use water efficiently to decrease the amount of wastewater produced in the operational activities, including generation, transmission, and distribution. PLN also recycled the wastewater by implementing tertiary treatment to produce a better quality of water. The treated wastewater will be reused for non-potable purposes, such as cooling towers, boilers make-up, toilet flushing, landscape watering, and leak detection.

Effluent management, including measurement and reporting of issues, is regularly documented and updating every month.

4. Emergency Response Programme

PLN has a comprehensive emergency response program in place to deal with a variety of potential emergencies, including natural disasters, environmental pollution, and environmental damage. The program includes the following elements:

1. Establishment of an emergency response team: Each unit of PLN has an emergency response team, with expertise in disaster management and electricity generation, transmission, and distribution, that is responsible for coordinating the response to an emergency
2. Development of emergency response plans: Each unit has emergency response plans that detail the steps that will be taken in the event of an emergency. The plans are based on the specific risks that the unit faces. PLN has implemented Board of Directors regulation No. 072.P/DIR/2021, which outlines guidelines for implementing disaster management. The policy aims to provide effective, planned, integrated, coordinated, and comprehensive disaster management that protects employees, their families and communities within the PLN business area from disaster risks and ensures optimal delivery of PLN’s electricity service.
3. Training of employees: All employees of PLN are trained in emergency response procedures. This training helps to ensure that employees know what to do in the event of an emergency. According to Board of Directors Regulation No. 072.P/DIR/2021, the PLN Taruna team must carry out activities such as debriefing, education, and training on disaster mitigation concepts, in order to implement disaster management effectively.
4. Communication and coordination: The Board of Directors’ Regulation No.119.P/DIR/ 2017 explains the mechanism for Coordination of Communication and Information Submission which is carried out in stages both for PLN’s internal and external needs including communication and dissemination of information on early warning of disasters, occurrence of disasters, up to the implementation of disaster management.
5. Investigation of incidents: PLN investigates all incidents to determine the cause and prevent future occurrences.

To anticipate the risk of emergency events from environmental management activities, PLN has the emergency response procedures, which are:

• Procedures that prepared at the planning stage before an activity is conducted to managed the wastewater disposal, water use, emission disposal, solid waste and B3 management, as well as environmental traffic.
• The Integrated Procedure on Emergency Preparedness and Response (PTHSSE-13) that created as part of the manual procedure for the Health, Safety, and Environment Division (DIVK3L) Integrated Management System.

5. Hazardous Waste Management

All PLN units have facilities for storing hazardous waste equipped with Technical Details of Hazardous Waste Storage and Environmental Approval documents. PLN also collaborates with hazardous waste management third parties who have Environmental Approvals related to hazardous waste management, including collect, transport, utilize, treatment and landfills.

1. Initiatives to reduce hazardous waste
   

   PLN is committed to reducing its hazardous waste by implementing several initiatives, including:

   • Oil purifier technology for used transformer oil
     Oil purifier is an equipment to clean and purify insulation oil that has been utilized in power transformers with an aim to remove contaminants such as water, gas, solid particle, and organic compound contained in the transformer oil. With an oil purifier, insulation oil can be reused, so the lifespan of the oil will be much longer and the waste disposal into the environment can be minimized.

   • Modification of process equipment
     PLN modified equipment and process to reduce hazardous waste generated from operation of the electricity generation activities. Equipment modification involves installing more efficient and environmentally friendly technologies, such as the use of filters. Meanwhile, process modification includes changes in the way of operation or operational procedures or substitution of materials to reduce the generation of hazardous waste.

   • Regeneration of used resin
     PLN implemented a regeneration process for used resin that is utilized for water treatment in wastewater treatment plants. With regeneration process, resin will be purified and reutilized in the water treatment process. Therefore, the regeneration process will also optimize the utilization of resources and reduce the reliance of new resin.
   • Substituting hazardous waste packaging to more sustainable
     PLN has substituted hazardous waste packaging into materials that can be reused or utilized for long term, such as tank to contain hazardous waste in solvent or liquid form.
   • Modification of wastewater treatment plant
     PLN has adjusted the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) to reduce hazardous waste sludge by modification WWTP separator with the Parallel Plate Separator method. This modification involves increasing the labyrinth area to capture sludge, as well as adding a Sludge Drying Bed with Fiberglass and applying a Filter press to handle the HSD sludge.
2. Initiatives to reuse hazardous waste
   

   PLN is committed to reusing its hazardous waste by repurposing used batteries for solar cells. Batteries that still have sufficient capacity to store energy can be utilized for storing the energy generated by solar panels. This initiative enhances the efficiency of solar energy utilization.

3. Initiatives to recycle hazardous waste
   

   PLN is committed to recycling its hazardous waste by implementing several initiatives, including:

   • The utilization of gypsum as a raw material for cement mixture
     Gypsum is commonly mixed with cement to control hardening time and enhance strength and quality. The utilization of hazardous waste gypsum will reduce the dependency on new raw materials and minimize waste disposal into the environment.
   • The recycling of used lubricating oil
     PLN has collaborated with external stakeholders to recycle used lubricating oil into new oil that meets with specification and industrial standards. This initiative reflects the company’s strong commitment to sustainable waste management and the circular economy, demonstrating that with suitable technology, industries can operate more responsibly towards the environment.
4. Initiatives to ensure proper disposal of hazardous waste
   

   PLN has effectively managed the hazardous waste generated during its operational activities at the plant. The waste, which includes oil waste, boiler crust, sludge, and hazardous waste storage, has been properly managed from its sources to the final disposal site.
   To ensure effective management, PLN has developed a hazardous waste management procedure, outlined in Procedure No. PT-HSSE-05 of 2019. This procedure governs various aspects of hazardous waste management, including identification, sorting, storage, transportation, management, and reporting.

5. Other Initiatives
   
   • Monitoring hazardous waste management monthly for parent units and Subsidiaries including hazardous waste management criteria in performance appraisal,
   • Developing a business process model (BPM) for reporting on the implementation of hazardous waste management,
   • Preparation of management procedures for hazardous waste, PCBs, and asbestos for the distribution network and work with international funding,
   • Awarding performance appreciation to units with successful achievements in reducing solid waste, effluent, emissions, and utilization of hazardous waste
   • Competition for the best HSSE implementation in the categories 3R implementation.

   All initiatives related hazardous management refer to Sustainability Report 2022 (pg. 109), and ESG Performance Report 2022 (pg. 53).

6. Non-GHG Air Emissions Programmes

PLN is committed to reducing non-GHG emissions from its power plants. The company has implemented a number of programs to achieve this goal, including:

1. Installation of air pollution control devices: PLN has installed a number of air pollution control devices, such as electrostatic precipitators (ESPs) and flue gas desulphurization (FGD) systems, to capture and remove pollutants from the emissions of its power plants.
2. Use of low-NOx burners: PLN is using low-NOx burners in its new power plants to reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions.
3. Minimizing dust and ash emissions: PLN is taking steps to minimize the potential for dust and ash emissions from its power plants, such as compacting coal in coal handling activities, spraying dust on coal stockpiles and ash yard, and plantation as a green barrier to community.
4. Installation of a continuous emission monitoring system (CEMS): PLN has installed a CEMS at all of its power plants which meets regulation to monitor the quality of emissions and identify any problems early on.
5. Routine maintenance of air pollution control devices: PLN performs routine maintenance of its air pollution control devices to ensure that they are operating properly and effectively reducing emissions.

These programs have been successful in reducing non-GHG emissions from PLN’s power plants. In 2022, the company’s non-GHG emissions intensity (the amount of emissions per unit of electricity generated) decreased by 10% compared to 2021.

PLN is committed to continuing to reduce its non-GHG emissions and become a green electricity provider. The company is planning to install more air pollution control devices, use more low-NOx burners, and develop new technologies to further reduce emissions.

The calculation of the non-GHG emission load taken from the Green and Gold-winning power plants is refer to Sustainability Report 2022 (pg. 97), and ESG Performance Report 2022 (pg. 55).

7. EMS Certification

We have obtained SNI ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management System (SML) implementation certification until 2023, adjusted to the units implementing it. 80% had certified, which is 37 units out of a total of 46 units, which comprise 11 power plant units, 6 transmission units, 12 distribution units, 1 unit from the Research and Development Center, and 1 unit from the Center for Education and Training.